A few months ago a friend sent me a video of a lecture given by Sir Ken Robinson in 2006, a prestigious expert in creativity and education. Actually I did not know about him before and I had never thought about the importance of the creativity in people’s life, in children’s education and in our society’s progress. However I always have admired creative people, like Jessica Okui, the authoress of the blog Zakka Life.
I had never questioned the system of education which I have learned with and is still in use nowadays that I have a daughter. As Sir Robinson says, we usually attach many importance to Mathematics and Science but the artistic subjects, as Literature and the Plastic Arts are considered to be minor subjects. That’s the way we all see it. But, is this value system right? As he says, we kill the natural creativity which the human being is born with by not promoting and encouraging the children to develop it. Quite the opposite, we teach them to restrain their creativity and focus their efforts on other aspects.
Ken Robinson defiende que esto no es bueno y no sólo a nivel individual. La sociedad necesita personas con imaginación y creatividad que desarrollen tanto ideas como aptitudes artísticas que mejoren nuestra vida.
Ken Robinson defends that that’s not good and not only at an individual level. Our society needs people with imagination and creativity who develop both ideas and artistic aptitudes which improve our lifes.
A good example of what creative people can contribute is Jessica Okui. On her blog, Zakka Life, shows great ideas and craft tutorials. I love her projects because they are very practical, applicable to everyday life (parties, decoration, games, etc.).
Y además utiliza gran variedad de técnicas y materiales.
And in addition she uses a wide variety of techniques and materials.
Ken Robinson me ha hecho reflexionar, creo que debemos potenciar las actividades artísticas en nuestros niños y las aptitudes que puedan mostrar. No sólo en el colegio, también en casa. En Zakka Life encontraréis tutoriales para realizar actividades con niños, así como en las páginas webs recomendadas en el apartado del blog “Con niños”. Y con suerte los mayores nos podemos contagiar un poco de su imaginación.
Ken Robinson has made me reflect on it. I think that we must foster the artistic activities on our children and the aptitudes that they could show. Not only at school, but at home. On Zakka Life you will find tutorials to make many activities with our children, as well as on the webs recommended in the blog’s section “With children”. And with a little luck the adults can pick up a bit of their imagination.